Guests
Yesterday I got the rare chance to see the Prime Minister, as well as the ministers of water, education, and various other things. They came to the next village over (Mtambula, about 2.5k away) for a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a small bank and maize-storage building. They have a generator, so they had a microphone and music playing. I showed up with a friend of mine, and was hanging out in the crowd hoping not to be noticed, but I guess I stick out and the agricultural extension officer called me up to stand in front with the village leaders, school principals, and bank officials. I had heard that the visitors were arriving at 11:00 am, so I showed up then. At 1:30 they arrived, and I had been standing in the line of village leaders ready to shake hands with the ministers for about an hour and a half in front of about 500 townspeople, while a couple of choirs stalled for time by singing welcoming songs. When the ministers finally did show up, they were pressed for time, so they cut the ribbons, took a few questions from the crowd, and were off within the hour (without the long awaited shaking-of-hands). It was an interesting experience, as people here will do ANYTHING for their guests, and often end up waiting for hours for guests with unspecified arrival times. I'm afraid this is what happened when I showed up in my village a day late.
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Monday, September 18, 2006
Teaching & Learning
Tomorrow will be my one-monthaversary in my village! Every day I find out new things about Tanzania or my village/villagers. I am still very impressed at their hard work. One of the teachers told me the other day that on the rare occasion that he doesn’t have work to do, he likes to sleep in… until 8:00 even! (That’s a.m.) Mostly people wake up at 6:00 and start cooking and cleaning, and then head to school or the farm or garden. I feel lazy when I don’t get out of bed until 7:00.
I began teaching English (which is not part of my job here) last week just to help out a local teacher. It is one of the weirdest experiences I’ve ever had because the kids are terrified of me. They are also incredibly obedient. If asked a question, they automatically stand up, even if they then have no idea of the answer or are too nervous to speak, which is usually the case right now. I got them to loosen up a bit when we played Simon Says. I know they will warm up to me because a few of the kids who started out like that now frequently visit my house. One girl in particular I caught in the act of counting my fingers and toes… she seemed surprised when they totaled 20—just like hers!
On Saturday the monthly market came to town. People came from all around the area to buy clothes and food and basic necessities. I went with a few teachers and enjoyed myself, besides feeling a little uncomfortable at being the only one who is greeted by everyone in either Kihehe, Kiswahili, or English. I bought a cabbage for 10 cents (haggled down from 15c) and a liter of tomatoes for 10 cents.
I am in the process now of finding out about the community and getting to know leaders. It is interesting because there are a few barriers, like the fact that people are busy in their farms, visiting their multiple wives, tending their cattle, going to funerals, etc. I will keep you updated!
Tomorrow will be my one-monthaversary in my village! Every day I find out new things about Tanzania or my village/villagers. I am still very impressed at their hard work. One of the teachers told me the other day that on the rare occasion that he doesn’t have work to do, he likes to sleep in… until 8:00 even! (That’s a.m.) Mostly people wake up at 6:00 and start cooking and cleaning, and then head to school or the farm or garden. I feel lazy when I don’t get out of bed until 7:00.
I began teaching English (which is not part of my job here) last week just to help out a local teacher. It is one of the weirdest experiences I’ve ever had because the kids are terrified of me. They are also incredibly obedient. If asked a question, they automatically stand up, even if they then have no idea of the answer or are too nervous to speak, which is usually the case right now. I got them to loosen up a bit when we played Simon Says. I know they will warm up to me because a few of the kids who started out like that now frequently visit my house. One girl in particular I caught in the act of counting my fingers and toes… she seemed surprised when they totaled 20—just like hers!
On Saturday the monthly market came to town. People came from all around the area to buy clothes and food and basic necessities. I went with a few teachers and enjoyed myself, besides feeling a little uncomfortable at being the only one who is greeted by everyone in either Kihehe, Kiswahili, or English. I bought a cabbage for 10 cents (haggled down from 15c) and a liter of tomatoes for 10 cents.
I am in the process now of finding out about the community and getting to know leaders. It is interesting because there are a few barriers, like the fact that people are busy in their farms, visiting their multiple wives, tending their cattle, going to funerals, etc. I will keep you updated!
Friday, September 01, 2006
Settling In
I had two meetings last Tuesday, which gave me a really good first impression of my village. People were on time and motivated, as well as patient with me. I know a lot of people have trouble getting projects started, but I have already been on a tour of all the water sources in the vilage, which need major repairs. It should be a good place to get work done. This week I also figured out how to make bread on my charcoal stove. It should be good to experiment because the mamas in town like to learn to bake new things. They got a taste of my cornbread last week, and said they wanted me to teach them how to make it. Go figure! Me? Giving baking lessons!?
I had two meetings last Tuesday, which gave me a really good first impression of my village. People were on time and motivated, as well as patient with me. I know a lot of people have trouble getting projects started, but I have already been on a tour of all the water sources in the vilage, which need major repairs. It should be a good place to get work done. This week I also figured out how to make bread on my charcoal stove. It should be good to experiment because the mamas in town like to learn to bake new things. They got a taste of my cornbread last week, and said they wanted me to teach them how to make it. Go figure! Me? Giving baking lessons!?
New Beginnings
After an intense two-month training period I am finally a real Peace Corpse (that's what we're called here)! I arrived at my site last weekend and began to settle in. The people of my village are very friendly and hard-working, the house I stay in is spacious and has a beautiful view of the next mountain over, and there is a lot to be done in the way of projects. I live right next to a primary school, which I will no doubt work very closely with, though right now I'm pretty sure the kids are mostly just terrified of me. They performed a welcome dance and song for me when I arrived, which was really beautiful, but I still sense fear.
So far I am healthy and happy, and just trying to adapt to the abrupt change in lifestyle from the training-site homestay. I had a lovely host family, with many kids who helped me learn the language, as well as how to cook, clean, dance etc. Tanzanian style. Leaving them behind, as well as the other volunteers and trainers was a bit hard. The Swahili training I got was excellent, but it is a bit different in this region. Most of the people in my town are Hehe, and the elders mainly speak the local language Kihehe.
My job right now is to talk to people and get to know their challenges in the village, because we are not allowed to do any projects until after our first in-service training in three months. I am sorry for being a poor correspondent for my first couple of months here, but there were no computers in my training site.
After an intense two-month training period I am finally a real Peace Corpse (that's what we're called here)! I arrived at my site last weekend and began to settle in. The people of my village are very friendly and hard-working, the house I stay in is spacious and has a beautiful view of the next mountain over, and there is a lot to be done in the way of projects. I live right next to a primary school, which I will no doubt work very closely with, though right now I'm pretty sure the kids are mostly just terrified of me. They performed a welcome dance and song for me when I arrived, which was really beautiful, but I still sense fear.
So far I am healthy and happy, and just trying to adapt to the abrupt change in lifestyle from the training-site homestay. I had a lovely host family, with many kids who helped me learn the language, as well as how to cook, clean, dance etc. Tanzanian style. Leaving them behind, as well as the other volunteers and trainers was a bit hard. The Swahili training I got was excellent, but it is a bit different in this region. Most of the people in my town are Hehe, and the elders mainly speak the local language Kihehe.
My job right now is to talk to people and get to know their challenges in the village, because we are not allowed to do any projects until after our first in-service training in three months. I am sorry for being a poor correspondent for my first couple of months here, but there were no computers in my training site.
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